Golf bag with improved club protecting and arranging means



United States Patent [72] Inventor George W. Wiedenmeier Milwaukee, Wisconsin [21 Appl. No. 757,203

[22] Filed Aug. 14, 1968 [45] Patented Oct. 20, 1970 [73 Assignee ABC Industries, Inc.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin a corporation of Wisconsin [54] GOLF BAG WITH IMPROVED CLUB PROTECTING AND ARRANGING MEANS 12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl ISO/1.5 [51] Int. Cl A63b 55/00 [50] Field of Search 150/ 1 .5(A). (B). (C)

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,722,134 7/1929 Fredette 150/1.5(C) UX 2,010,961 8/1935 Reach .150/i.5(A) UX 2,014,589 9/1935 Saad... .l50/l.5(C)UX 2,607,382 8/1952 Le Vine. ..l50/1.5(A) UX 2,763,309 9/1956 Jones ..l50/l 5(A) UX 3,139,132 6/1964 Shiller ..l50/1.5(A) UX FOREIGN PATENTS 859,116 1/1961 Great Britain 150/l.5(A)UX Primary ExaminerDonald Fr Norton ABSTRACT: A golf bag with flat side-by-side partitions dividing its mouth into compartments, each of which is in turn divided into two subcompartments by a pair of tubes joined together and held in fixed spaced relation by a web. Each subcompartrnent receives one of the irons of a set of clubs, and by the spacial relationship between the tubes and the extension of the partitions upwardly beyond the top of the tubes, the heads of the irons are kept from contacting each other.

Patented Oct. 20, 1970 Sheet @MJM GOLF BAG WITH IMPROVED CLUB PROTECTING AND .ARRANGING MEANS This invention relates to golf bags and has as its purpose and object to provide means by which all of the clubs contained in the bag are held neatly arranged, with the heads thereof-and especially the heads of the irons-protected against contact with one another.

The increasing popularity of riding carts has focused attention upon the need for protecting the heads of golf clubs from striking each other. This stems from the fact that the golf bags of the two players using the cart are simply laid on their side in the bag holders with which the carts are equipped. As a result, unless some protection is provided for the heads of the irons, as well as the woods-which usually are incased in removable covers-the irons hang together and become marred. Although each iron could be equipped with a separate cover fitted'onto its head, as in the case of the woods, the inconvenience of having to remove and replace the covers would soon lead to their being discarded, if not lost.

The present invention meets its objective and overcomes the inconvenience of separate covers for all of the clubs by equipping the golf bag with side-by-side parallel partitions which divide the mouth of the bag into a plurality of compartments each of a size to hold two irons, and spacers which are preferably pairs of Siamese joined tubes in each of the compartments to divide the same into two subcompartments, one for each of the two irons.

With these observations and objects in mind, the manner in which the invention achieves its purpose will be appreciated from the following description and the accompanying drawings. This disclosure is intended merely to exemplify the invention. The invention is not limited to the particular structure disclosed, and changes can be made therein which lie within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the invention.

The drawings illustrate two complete examples of the physical embodiments of the invention constructed according to the best modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

llG. l is a perspective view of the upper portion of a golf bag equipped with the club protecting and arranging means of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the upper portion of the golf bag with part of said protecting and arranging means in position to be assembled therewith;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the completely assembled structure;

FM]. 4 is a top view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating a modified embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the assembled golf bag and protecting and arranging means in position therein;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a portion of the club protecting and arranging means;

Fit]. 7 is a perspective view of one of the partition members forming a part of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the same partition member, but showing the same in its condition of use, along with an adjunct thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 5 designates a conventional golf bag, only the upper portionof which is shown. The open top of the bag, of course, constitutes the mouth thereof. The specific shape of the mouth of the bag varies somewhat with different bag manufacturers but, in any event, it has a fairly stiff marginal edge 6. As is customary, a separator bar 7 extending across the mouth of the bag, divides the same into a small section 8 in which the woods 9 of the set of clubs are received, and a larger section 10 for the irons it.

Although the specific means by which the separator bar is mounted is of no particular consequence and may be different in the bags of various manufacturers, in the present case-and for that matter in most instances-the separator bar is a rigid tubular strut of a length to bridge across the side walls 12-12 of the bag, and is held in place by a strap 13 which passes through the strut and through slits 14 in the side walls l2l2'.

The strap 13 also serves to hold a plurality of partitions 15 in the mouth of the bag. These partitions are formed of plastic, leather, or some suitable material and are preferably flat throughout their entire area. in outline they may be said to have a generally blunt pennant-shaped upper portion 16 terminating in a lateral projection in, and a stubby bottom portion l7. There are four of these partitions, and-as seen in FIG. 5-they are of progressively greater height. The partitions are situated in the mouth of the bag with their lower portions l7 extending a fair distance into the bag and their upper portions projecting a substantial distance beyond the top of the bag. The partitions divide the mouth of the bag into five compartments lit. the three innermost of which lie between adjacent partitions and the two outermost being defined by the outermost of the group of partitions and the adjacent side walls 12-12.

The partitions are held in properly spaced relationship by spacer members W. in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the spacer members comprise tubes 20 joined together in pairs by webs 2i. in this manner, the compartment llfi -each of which is of a size to accommodate two irons-are divided into subcompartments 22, one for each of the two irons.

By virtue of the projection of the upper portions of the partitions beyond the top of the bag, the heads of the clubs in each compartment lid are kept from contact with the heads of the clubs in the adjacent compartment or compartments, and the spacing of the tubes 24 from one another established and maintained by their connecting webs Zll keeps the heads of the two irons in each compartment if from striking one another.

As already stated, the strap 13 holds the partitions l5 in place. it also secures in position the several pairs of tubes which form the spacer members l9. To this end, the strap passes through aligned slits M in the sides l2-ll2' of the bag, and slits 25 and 2b in the partitions and webs 22, respectively. The ends of the strap are, of course, joined in the customary manner.

Attention is directed to the presence of a generally downwardly facing shoulder or projection 28 on the edge of each partition adjacent to the separator bar 7. These shoulders or projections bear upon the separator bar and thereby support the partitions; and, in so doing, they coact with the strap 13 in maintaining the partitions in place.

As will no doubt be evident, the specific shape of the partitions and the difference in height thereof comports with the difference in club lengths. With the longer clubs-nurnbers 2 through 5-occupying the rear row of subcompartments and the shorter clubs in front, and with the longer clubs in each row next to the tallest partitions-as shown in EEG. l-the sloping upper front edge 27 of the partitions leaves the end portions of all of the irons exposed to view to substantially the same extent, notwithstanding the different lengths of the clubs. The result is a neat, very convenient and readily accessible arrangement of the clubs.

Although the tubes Eli are relatively short and occupy only the upper portion of the bag, they keep the clubs separated, but with the insertion of conventional full length tubes Elli into the tubes 2ilas suggested in H6. 6-the separation of the clubs is complete. As will be understood, the inside diameter of the tubes 2t) is such as to snugly receive the presently available full length tubes, all of which have substantially the same diameter.

Another way of dividing the compartments 1% into subcompartments and holding the partitions properly spaced is illustrated in H68. 4, '7 and 8. in this case, each partition 15' has a flap 31 extending from the front edge of its lower portion E7. The flap is of such length that, when folded back upon the partition-as shown in H6. 8, a slit 32 in the flap aligns with the slit 25' in the partition. Hence, when the partitions i5 are assembled with the bag, the strap 113 can pass through the slits 32, the slits 25' in the partitions, and through tubular spacers 33 between the partitions and their flaps. As a result, the spacers 33 and the flaps divide the compartments 18 into subcompartments 22, as shown in FlG. 4.

From the foregoing description taken with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that this invention provides a very attractive and useful improvement in golf bags.

I claim:

1. in a golf bag, means for keeping an entire set of golf clubs neatly arranged therein. comprising the combination of:

A. a separator bar extending across the mouth of the bag to divide the same into a small section for the reception of the woods of the set and a larger section for the irons;

B. a plurality of partitions in the mouth of said larger section disposed in side-by-side spaced apart relationship. and perpendicular to the separator bar to divide the mouth of said larger section into a plurality of compartments each of a size to hold two irons; and

C. retainer means connected with the sides of the bag that are adjacent to the outermost partitions and with said partitions to hold the latter in place; said partitions having an edge thereof in juxtaposition to said separator bar and extending upwardly beyond the mouth of the bag to lie between the heads of the irons in adjacent compartments.

2. In a golf bag, the structure of claim 1 wherein the edges of the partitions that are in juxtaposition to the separator bar, have shoulders resting on the bar, and wherein the retainer means comprises a strap passing through aligned holes in the partitions and said adjacent sides of the bag, whereby said shoulders and strap cooperate in maintaining the partitions properly positioned in the bag.

3. In a golf bag, the structure set forth in claim 1, further characterized by spacer means disposed between adjacent partitions and between the outermost of the partitions and said adjacent sides of the bag, to hold the partitions against lateral displacement.

4. in a golf bag, the structure of claim 3 wherein said spacer means extends across each compartment in spaced relation to the separator bar and the side of the bag remote from the separator bar, to divide each compartment into two subcompartments, one for each of two irons.

5. In a golf bag, the structure of claim 3, wherein the spacer means in each compartment comprises a pair of rigidly joined but spaced apart parallel tubes.

6. In a golf bag, the structure of claim 1, further characterized by:

A. a pair of tubes between each pair of adjacent partitions and between the outermost partitions and the adjacent side walls of the bag, said tubes dividing the compartments into subcompartments, one for each of two irons;

B. a web rigidly joining each pair of said tubes; and

C. wherein said retainer means comprises a strap passing through the partitions, through said webs and through said sides of the bag.

7. In a golf bag, the structure of claim 1 further characterized by:

A. a flap extending from the edge of each partition remote from the separator bar; said flaps being folded back over one side of their respective partitions;

B. a tubular spacer between each partition and its flap;

the partitions and their flaps having aligned slots; and

C. said retainer means comprising a strap passing through said aligned slots, through said tubular spacers and through slots in said sides of the bag; the spacers and the flaps coacting to divide the compartments into subcompartments. one for each iron.

8. In a golf bag, means for holding the irons of a set of golf clubs neatly arranged in the bag comprising:

A. a plurality of pairs of substantially rigid tubes in the mouth of the bag;

B. a web joining the tubes of each pair with one another and holding them in fixed parallel spaced apart relationship, each web having a slot therein; and

C. a strap passing through the slots in said webs and through the adjacent sidewalls of the bag to hold the pairs of tubes in position; the tubes roviding'individual club receiving pockets.

9. In a golf ag, the structure set forth in claim 8, wherein said pairs of tubes are short and located only in the upper end portion of the bag adjacent to its mouth; and further characterized by a long tube in each of said short tubes extending to the bottom of the bag.

10. In a golf bag, the structure set forth in claim 8, further characterized by a plurality of partitions extending upwardly from the tops of said pairs of tubes, one between each of the adjacent pairs of tubes to keep the heads of irons in the adjacent pairs of tubes from contacting one another.

11. In a golf bag, the structure of claim 10, wherein the spacing of the tubes of each pair is sufficient to prevent contact between the heads of irons in said tubes.

12. In a golf bag for a set of golf clubs, means for holding the irons of the set in an orderly arrangement, comprising the combination of:

A. a plurality of substantially flat partitions disposed in sideby-side flatwise spaced relationship in the mouth of the bag, dividing the same into a plurality of compartments each of a size to hold two clubs;

B. strap means connecting the sides of the bag that are opposite the outermost ones of said partitions and passing through said partitions to hold the same in the mouth of the bag; said partitions extending upwardly beyond the mouth of the bag so as to lie between the heads of the clubs therebetween; and

C. spacer means in each of said compartments to hold the partitions against lateral displacement and to divide the compartments into subcompartments, one for each of two clubs. 

